Maggie Anderson
Encyclopedia
Maggie Anderson is an American poet and editor with roots in Appalachia. 'Newsletters interview
from 1966–68 and earned a bachelor’s degree in English, with high honors, from West Virginia University
in 1970. Her M.A. in English (Creative Writing) in 1973 and an M.S.W. in 1977 were also from WVU. She worked as a rehabilitation counselor for blind and visually impaired clients at the West Virginia Rehabilitation Center from 1973-77. Beginning in 1979, she worked as poet-in-residence for ten years, in schools, senior centers, correctional facilities and libraries in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. She has served as visiting writer at several universities, including the University of Pittsburgh
, the University of Oregon
, the Pennsylvania State University, Hamilton College, and West Virginia University. In addition to her travels in the United States, Anderson has lived in Denmark (1992–1993) and traveled extensively throughout western and eastern Europe, as well as in Russia and Scandinavia.
In 1989, Anderson began teaching creative writing at Kent State University
and was appointed coordinator of the Wick Poetry Program in 1992. In 2004, when the Wick Poetry Program celebrated its 20th anniversary and received a $2 million endowment to create the Wick Poetry Center in the College of Arts and Sciences, Anderson was named director. Anderson was on the founding committee of the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and served as Kent State University’s Campus Coordinator for the NEOMFA from 2003–2006 and as Director of the Northeast Ohio MFA Consortium from 2006-2009. Upon her retirement from KSU in 2009, the Maggie Anderson Endowment Fund was established in her honor. The Fund aims to assist talented writing students at the university with writing-related travel expenses.Kent profile
Anderson is the author of several poetry collections, the most recent of which is Windfall: New and Selected Poems (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000), and the founder and editor of the Wick Poetry First Book Series and the Wick Poetry Chapbook Series for Ohio Poets (Kent State University Press, 1993–2011). In 1971 she co-founded Trellis, a poetry journal, with Winston Fuller and Irene McKinney, and served as editor until 1981.
Anderson’s awards and honors include two fellowships in poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts
and grants from the Ohio Arts Council
and the MacDowell Colony
, including an Isabella Gardner Fellowship. In 2004, Emory
and Henry College in Virginia honored her at their 23rd annual Appalachian Literary Festival, and Kent State University
honored her with a Distinguished Scholar Award. In 2003, she received the Helen and Laura Kraut Memorial Ohioana Poetry Award from the Ohioana Library Association. In 2002, the KSU Alumni Association awarded her one of just three University Distinguished Teaching Awards.
More than 40 of Anderson’s poems have been published in poetry journals, including The American Poetry Review, New Letters, Prairie Schooner, The Georgia Review, and Hamilton Stone Review, and her work has appeared in more than 50 anthologies and textbooks. Essays have appeared in 17 anthologies and journals of contemporary poetry and poetics. Her poems have been set to music four times by contemporary composers, including “The Dream Vegetables” in Dreams and Nocturne
s: Chamber Music of Stephen Gryc, “In Singing Weather” by Monica Houghton, “Nightmare” by Anne LeBaron
, and “Related to the Sky” from “Sun Songs and Nocturnes” by John David Earnest, an a cappella
piece for male chorus performed at Lincoln Center in 1992 by Chanticleer
and the New Jersey Philharmonic Orchestra.
Life and career
Anderson attended West Virginia Wesleyan CollegeWest Virginia Wesleyan College
West Virginia Wesleyan College is a regionally accredited private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Buckhannon, West Virginia, United States. It has an enrollment of about 1,400 students from 35 U.S. states and 26 countries. The school was founded in 1890 by the West Virginia Conference of...
from 1966–68 and earned a bachelor’s degree in English, with high honors, from West Virginia University
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
in 1970. Her M.A. in English (Creative Writing) in 1973 and an M.S.W. in 1977 were also from WVU. She worked as a rehabilitation counselor for blind and visually impaired clients at the West Virginia Rehabilitation Center from 1973-77. Beginning in 1979, she worked as poet-in-residence for ten years, in schools, senior centers, correctional facilities and libraries in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. She has served as visiting writer at several universities, including the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
, the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
, the Pennsylvania State University, Hamilton College, and West Virginia University. In addition to her travels in the United States, Anderson has lived in Denmark (1992–1993) and traveled extensively throughout western and eastern Europe, as well as in Russia and Scandinavia.
In 1989, Anderson began teaching creative writing at Kent State University
Kent State University
Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
and was appointed coordinator of the Wick Poetry Program in 1992. In 2004, when the Wick Poetry Program celebrated its 20th anniversary and received a $2 million endowment to create the Wick Poetry Center in the College of Arts and Sciences, Anderson was named director. Anderson was on the founding committee of the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and served as Kent State University’s Campus Coordinator for the NEOMFA from 2003–2006 and as Director of the Northeast Ohio MFA Consortium from 2006-2009. Upon her retirement from KSU in 2009, the Maggie Anderson Endowment Fund was established in her honor. The Fund aims to assist talented writing students at the university with writing-related travel expenses.Kent profile
Anderson is the author of several poetry collections, the most recent of which is Windfall: New and Selected Poems (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000), and the founder and editor of the Wick Poetry First Book Series and the Wick Poetry Chapbook Series for Ohio Poets (Kent State University Press, 1993–2011). In 1971 she co-founded Trellis, a poetry journal, with Winston Fuller and Irene McKinney, and served as editor until 1981.
Anderson’s awards and honors include two fellowships in poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
and grants from the Ohio Arts Council
Ohio Arts Council
The Ohio Arts Council is an agency serving the U.S. state of Ohio.Established in 1965, its mission is to "foster and encourage the development of the arts and assist the preservation of Ohio's cultural heritage." Each year it awards grants to arts organizations and individuals throughout the state...
and the MacDowell Colony
MacDowell Colony
The MacDowell Colony is an art colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, U.S.A., founded in 1907 by Marian MacDowell, pianist and wife of composer Edward MacDowell. She established the institution and its endowment chiefly with donated funds...
, including an Isabella Gardner Fellowship. In 2004, Emory
Emory College
Emory College may refer to:* , an academic division of Emory University, located in DeKalb County, Georgia, USA, in the Atlanta area* Oxford College of Emory University, a two-year residential college of Emory University located in Oxford, Georgia, USA....
and Henry College in Virginia honored her at their 23rd annual Appalachian Literary Festival, and Kent State University
Kent State University
Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
honored her with a Distinguished Scholar Award. In 2003, she received the Helen and Laura Kraut Memorial Ohioana Poetry Award from the Ohioana Library Association. In 2002, the KSU Alumni Association awarded her one of just three University Distinguished Teaching Awards.
More than 40 of Anderson’s poems have been published in poetry journals, including The American Poetry Review, New Letters, Prairie Schooner, The Georgia Review, and Hamilton Stone Review, and her work has appeared in more than 50 anthologies and textbooks. Essays have appeared in 17 anthologies and journals of contemporary poetry and poetics. Her poems have been set to music four times by contemporary composers, including “The Dream Vegetables” in Dreams and Nocturne
Nocturne
A nocturne is usually a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night...
s: Chamber Music of Stephen Gryc, “In Singing Weather” by Monica Houghton, “Nightmare” by Anne LeBaron
Anne LeBaron
Alice Anne LeBaron is an United States composer and harpist.-Biography:Anne LeBaron holds a B.A. in music from the University of Alabama , an M.A. in music from the State University of New York at Stony Brook , and a D.M.A. from Columbia University...
, and “Related to the Sky” from “Sun Songs and Nocturnes” by John David Earnest, an a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
piece for male chorus performed at Lincoln Center in 1992 by Chanticleer
Chanticleer (ensemble)
Based in San Francisco, California, Chanticleer is a full-time classical vocal ensemble in the United States. Over the last three decades, it has developed a major reputation for its interpretations of Renaissance music, but it also performs a wide repertoire of jazz, gospel, and other venturesome...
and the New Jersey Philharmonic Orchestra.
Works
- Windfall: New and Selected Poems. (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000)
- A Space Filled with Moving. (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1992)
- Cold Comfort. (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1986)
- Years That Answer. (New York: Harper and Row Publishers, Inc., 1980)
- Greatest Hits: 1984-2004. (Columbus: Pudding House Publications, 2004)
- The Great Horned Owl. (Riderwood: Icarus Press, 1979)